Orange and Santa Clara counties are suing five large narcotics manufacturers, citing false advertising and unfair business practices. Then, LAPD Chief Beck discusses the Griffith Park attacks and LAPD morale after officer deaths. Later, authors Claire Shipman and Katty Kay explore gender dynamics and confidence in their new book, “The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance--What Women Should Know.”
Who should be held responsible for narcotics abuse?
Orange and Santa Clara counties are suing five large narcotics manufacturers, citing false advertising and unfair business practices.
The suit accuses the companies of creating a public nuisance and causing a prescription drug epidemic. Both counties have high numbers of overdose deaths and emergency room visits related to abuse of prescription narcotics.
O.C. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas argues that the case is a “matter of public protection,” and that the drug companies manipulate doctors and patients into prescribing and using narcotic painkillers to treat conditions that don’t require that level on intense treatment.
Abuse of prescription narcotics can lead to addiction and illegal drug use.
Have narcotics manufacturers unfairly targeted California doctors and patients in their advertising? Who is responsible for the abuse of prescription drugs -- the manufacturer, the doctor, or the patient? How should these California counties handle the problem of narcotics use?
Guests:
Tony Rackauckas, Orange County District Attorney
Jody Armour, Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law
LAPD Chief Beck on the Griffith Park attacks, LAPD morale after officer deaths
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck joins Larry for AirTalk’s monthly Check-in.
First, Chief Beck explains what happened to cause the multi-car accident he was involved in on Wednesday night. Luckily no one was hurt:
"I have a funny story about it. I was in uniform and our car ended up against the K-rail, the concrete K-rail, and my driver couldn't get out. I get out and I go to the car that we'd run into — or had run into us — and it was an SUV driven by a women with two teenage kids in it. So her door was all tweaked and mangled, so I pulled the door open and I asked, 'Are you alright?' like anybody else would. She looked at me and she says, 'Oh my God, it's the Chief, how did you get here so fast?' I said I was flying by and I just dropped in. It was absolutely true. Luckily I checked and nobody was seriously injured. Obviously there's always some trauma that goes with those kinds of accidents, but no one was seriously injured."
In addition to Chief Beck's accident, we address a number of concerns including the two assaults that have taken place in Griffith Park. How are these attacks impact park-goers? What steps are the LAPD taking to ensure a safe environment at Griffith Park?
A number of car crashes have led to three officer fatalities within the police department. How have these accidents impacted morale within the LAPD? In the wake of these accidents, are additional safety measures being implemented?
Guest:
Charlie Beck, Chief of Los Angeles Police Department
Is the ACA funding plan a bailout?
There are three provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known colloquially, as the “three Rs.” They are: risk adjustment, reinsurance, and risk corridors. All are intended to promote insurer competition on the basis of quality and value and promote insurance market stability, particularly in the early years of reform.
Currently, the “risk corridor” provision is being scrutinized. Apparently, there is no appropriation language to get insurance companies money that might be due them. But the US Health and the Human Services department (HHS) has a plan in place.
This plan worries some, fearing the burden could land on the taxpayers back if enacted. Others say, there are safeguards in the healthcare law already, and the plan won’t be necessary.
So, what does this mean to the consumer? Higher premiums? Or nothing to worry about?
Guests:
Yevgeniy Feyman, fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He writes on health care policy, entitlement reform, and the Affordable Care Act.
Dylan Roby, PhD, Director of Health Economics and Evaluation Research Program within the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Zooming in on the VA healthcare backlog situation in Los Angeles
More than a month after news broke that a number of veterans had allegedly died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix VA, President Obama finally addressed the controversy yesterday at a televised briefing. Speaking from the White House, President Obama vowed to investigate the matter but stood by embattled VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, whom some lawmakers have called on to resign.
"When I heard allegations of misconduct - any misconduct, whether it's allegations of VA staff covering up long wait times or cooking the books - I will not stand for it, not as commander in chief, but also not as an American," President Obama told reporters.
Rob Nabors, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, travelled to Phoenix last night for the investigation. He and Shinseki are expected to present a preliminary report to the White House next week.
The VA scandal in Phoenix was first uncovered by CNN in mid-April. The news network found the existence of a secret waiting list and that at least 40 veterans died before they could get appointments at the Phoenix VA. The wait list was devised to cover up the long wait time some 1,400 veterans had to endure to see a doctor.
How is the VA backlog situation in Los Angeles? Should Shinseki resign?
Guest:
Alan Lowenthal, Democratic Congressman representing the 47th District which includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Garden Grove and Westminster. He co-sponosred an amendment to a military construction and veterans’ programs funding bill aimed at helping to clear a national backlog of VA disability benefit cases. That amendment passed the House in late April and has headed to the Senate for consideration
Does confidence matter as much as competence?
In their new book “The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance--What Women Should Know,” authors Claire Shipman and Katty Kay explore gender dynamics and confidence.
Evidence shows that men are more self-assured than women, and the dichotomy has negative effects on female success. Shipman and Kay found that women, even those at the top of their field, weren’t as confident in their position as one might expect them to be. Women negotiate less often for raises (and for less money when they do), they assess their own performance more critically.
The difference in self-assurance may be responsible for the fact that women don’t seek out promotions, competition, and new opportunities as frequently as their male peers? How can women close the confidence gap and catch up? What is responsible for the disparity, and what can women and men do to fix it?
Guest:
Katty Kay, co-author, “The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance--What Women Should Know” (HarperBusiness, 2014); Lead anchor, BBC World News America